The Golden Cub
by Vlraln
Summary: No one seemed to understand. That he was only a child and he was supposed to be childish.
1. Chapter 1: A Child's Impatience

One lonely afternoon, when there was no one to play with and the history lessons given by his maester was done, Joffrey went to the kitchen. He wanted to have a slice of lemon cakes. His eyes wandered as he waited for a maid to cut him a piece of the lemon cakes and a fat kitchen cat caught his attention.

'Why is the cat so fat?' he asked more to himself and didn't expect anyone to answer him.

'The cat's got kittens inside of her belly, My Prince.' One of the cooks said, smiling kindly at him. 'Don't you want any kittens to play with?'

'No, I've grown up. Mother told me that I should not be childish. Kittens are just for little children and girls like Myrcella.' He answered.

'Well, My Prince. Should I tell you when they're born? You can give them to your sister. I hope there won't be so many of them so the kitchen stays clean.' The cook said.

'When are they going to be born?' He asked, a little bit more interested now.

Actually he might want a kitten. He decided that probably he wanted to have a golden one, so when it grew up it'd resemble a lion, or lioness, because even cats don't grow manes. The Golden Lion was his Mother's and uncles' house sigil anyway. And he was rather lonely, really. Myrcella was still a little girl and he didn't even know what to do with her. Tommen too, was still a babe, though he couldn't wait for him to grow up so they could play sword fight together and spar like men and brothers do. Besides, there were not many things to keep him busy those days. Only lessons from his maester or septa. His mother hadn't let him practice swords yet.

'Soon, maybe about a week or so, My Prince.' The cook replied.

Three days had passed since he had the conversation with the cook. Again, he was bored that day. And he had not received a word about the cat.

He couldn't wait any longer. He wanted the kittens. Now. He would give them to Myrcella and keep one with a golden fur for himself -if there were any of course- and they would play with them together. Perhaps it was good way to start interacting with his own sister, he thought.

So he looked for the dagger with a Baratheon Stag carved to the handle that his father gave him not so long ago. Cersei insisted to keep the dagger however, because she did not think that the little boy was old enough to use it properly and wisely.

Maybe she was right.

But Joffrey thought he knew where to find it. He sneaked into his parents' solar, inspecting every chest and drawer in the room until he found it. Inside a chest by the end of the bed, the dagger was laid beneath layers of rich, expensive fabrics which belonged to the Queen.

Carefully, he sneaked out again and headed to the kitchen.

It had been too easy. There were not many people in the kitchen and most of them didn't even notice that he was there. The cat was sleeping in the corner of the kitchen. Joffrey hesitated for a moment but then dared himself to hold the cat gently and he opened up the cat with his dagger.

Joffrey had got the kittens now. He was about to bring them to Myrcella when he passed the room where his father and the small council are discussing over something and suddenly it hit him that it was the first time he had used the dagger and he should show what he's done with it.

'Father!' he smiled.

Robert turned his head and looked at him with a shocked expression followed by everyone there. He stood; walking towards him and Joffrey could sense that whatever's about to happen wouldn't be good though he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Robert looked at him with a sickened, disgusted face.

And within a second Joffrey was on the floor. He had blood all over his mouth, his cheek was on fire, and all of his body was in pain because of the harsh contact with the hard stone floor. He tried hard not to cry but he can't. The pain, the kittens, and confusions collided in his head. Then, his world went black.


	2. Chapter 2: A Decision

He awoke two days later in his bed.

To his right was Myrcella, sitting on a chair, looking outside the balcony. And to his left was his mother, still asleep while holding his hand.

The pain hadn't gone entirely. He raised his right arm to touch his cheek and winced. He could feel that the pain inside his mouth was worse than the pain on his cheek. He moved his tongue and felt that the left side of his mouth was all right but hissed in pain when he moved his tongue to the right side.

Myrcella turned her attention from the balcony. She looked at him and grinned.

'Mother, Joff is awake!' She ran to their mother and shook her softly.

Cersei opened her eyes abruptly and smiled too.

'My son! Thank the Gods!' she carefully hugged him and kissed his temple. 'Myrcella, please tell any servant you could find nearby to fetch Maester Pycelle.'

'Yes, mother.' The little princess then hurried outside the room.

'Mother, I think I lost two of my teeth... They will grow again, won't they?' Joffrey said.

'They will, my darling boy. I'm sure everything will be fine.'Cersei replied in a comforting tone.

The next three days were like hell for Joffrey.

He had to receive about six or seven treatments a day and was not allowed to leave his bed.

He hated the ointments that smelt bad and had to be applied to his wounds frequently. He hated the food which tasted disgusting because they were all porridge-like. He hated the pain in his mouth and cheek. But what he hated the most was the boredom.

On the third day, everyone was busy. There was no one to talk to. Not even his mother, for she was a queen, thus she had many matters to do.

He almost drifted off to sleep when there was a knock on the door.

'Come in.' Joffrey said with a sleepy voice.

It was the Princess. Myrcella entered the room with something in her arms.

'Good afternoon, brother.' She greeted.

'Good afternoon, Myrcella. What are you doing here?' He asked, looking at the delicate orange thing wrapped in a handkerchief in her arms.

She didn't answer his question; she just sat on a chair beside his bed and showed him the 'orange thing'. It moved a bit and Joffrey was surprised.

'It survives? Is it one of the kittens I have …' Joffrey asked incredulously and trailed off, unable to finish his question.

'Yes! Isn't she cute?' Myrcella responded happily.

'Um, yes?' He frowned. 'Who gave it to you?'

'It's a female, Joff. I found her myself, when you had fainted and were carried here. It is a miracle, don't you think?'

'Of course! How do you take care of it?'

'You see, kittens need warmth my handmaiden said. So I wrapped her in this handkerchief all the time. And she must be fed every two or three hours, even at night.'

'And how do you feed _her_?'

'I feed her with milk. I dipped my fingers to the milk and let her lick my fingers.' She answered plainly.

He frowned again, finding the idea quite weird. But he realized suddenly that talking to his sister wasn't really that hard. Myrcella was very smart and bold for a four year old girl.

'Have you named her?'

'No, I haven't. Do you want to name her?'

'It's yours. You're the one who should name her.'

'Well, let's call her Topaz.' Myrcella grinned.

And the two siblings continued to chat, until Joffrey had to receive another treatment and Myrcella had to feed her kitten.

That night, Cersei stormed to the King's chambers, her anger raging.

'Our son hasn't even recovered yet and you are planning to take him away from me!' She yelled at her husband.

'Yesterday you threatened to slit my throat if I ever beat the boy again. Now what? It is not like that, woman. How did you know?' Robert asked, instantly distracted from the scrolls of paperwork on his desk.

'It is not important! He is my son! And you didn't even tell me about this! Where are you planning to send him away? Do you even love him, Robert? Do you care about him?'

_This woman_, he thought, _I have only talked about this matter to Jon Arryn in private and no one else, yet in the end she always finds out about everything._ 'I care. I want him to be a decent king someday-'

'By sending him away from his own parents and homeland! You are his father-' Cersei interrupted.

'I was never meant to be a good father!' Robert roared.

Cersei sat herself on a seat opposite of Robert and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself a little.

'I want him to be fostered somewhere. I don't want him to grow up here.' Robert continued.

'And where are you planning to send him?' Cersei repeated her question.

'Perhaps to Winterfell, or Dragonstone.' Robert answered.

'Ned Stark's had four children and Lady Catelyn is still with their fifth child now. He has a bastard and a ward too. Should you send Joffrey there, I'm sure that it will be a burden for him and his wife to raise eight children at a time.' Cersei said thoughtfully.

'Then maybe Dragonstone is a better choice.'

'No. I heard that your brother doesn't even have a time for his only daughter, leaving her only her mother and a mad fool for a friend. I suppose you too don't want Joffrey to be such a stiff man that isn't capable of loving anything except his duty?'

Robert looked deep in thought. He had to admit that Stannis was not any better father than he was either. 'Or we can send him to Casterly Rock.' Cersei suggested after a few seconds of silence.

The King looked at her as if she had completely lost her mind and laughed. 'And make him even more of a Lannister? You must be joking Cersei.'

'No, I am not. Everybody knows that my father was the one who actually ruled The Seven Kingdoms for twenty prosperous years. He would teach Joffrey everything he knew about ruling the kingdoms and all.' The Queen said.

Robert was lost in his thought again and Cersei could sense that Robert was about to give in. _Well, anywhere is better than King's Landing, the boy has to be separated from his mother and her doctrines or he'll only be a damn puppet king to Cersei when I'm dead._

'Fine.' He finally said. 'But you must swear by The Seven Gods and the seven hells, that when _my son_ comes back, he does not come back as a lion, but as a stag. Am I understood?' Robert said firmly, meaning every word he said.

'Yes, Your Grace. I swear by The Seven Gods and the seven hells.' Cersei stood. 'I shall send a raven to my father tonight. When are you planning to send him?'

'He is still too young now. Just inform your father and I'll let you know later.'

With that, Cersei nodded and excused herself to her chambers.


End file.
